


Paws for a Second

by LemonNinjaa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Cats, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 20:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2201592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonNinjaa/pseuds/LemonNinjaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daichi decides that working on teamwork is important, and Hinata volunteers Kageyama's house. Little does Karasuno know that Kageyama has two fluffy secrets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Paws for a Second

            _“You’re too much of a king on the court!”_

_“Calm down, it’s just a game.”_

_“You take this too seriously.”_

_“Man, Kageyama is a total dictator. I don’t want to play volleyball if he’s going to be on the team.”_

_“What the hell is Kageyama’s problem?! He might be talented but his attitude counteracts that.”_

_Kageyama was stretched out on his bed, warmth emanating from his chest where his two cats were curled up together. One arm was supporting his head, the other one idly petting the bi-coloured blob of fur._

_“It’s not my fault that they don’t take this seriously,” he spoke quietly._

_Honoka, the ginger cat, meowed quietly from his upper chest. He felt Kouta, the black cat, knead Kageyama’s stomach. He smiled bitterly at the thought that his two cats were his closest friends. No one wanted to get to know the King of the Court. They didn’t think there was anything else to the boy other than anger and a sense of superiority._

_“I don’t want to be friends with them anyway; they wouldn’t understand my feelings about volleyball. They’d just be rude to me and make fun of me.”_

“KAGEYAMA!”

            The dark-haired boy was startled out of his thoughts by the presence of an orange-haired head suddenly in his face.

            “What the hell?! Why did you suddenly get all up in my face?!”

            “You weren’t paying attention to me or anything the team was saying!” Hinata bounced away and back to Kageyama’s side as the two resumed walking, leading their volleyball team to get meat buns.

            “I guess the King was too busy focusing on how we are all inferior and that he should be captain,” a snide, quiet voice piped up from behind them.

            Kageyama gritted his teeth, not having to look behind him to know that Tsukishima was pushing his glasses up as he always does.

            “Shut up, Tsukishima,” he grumbled.

            Suga nudged Daichi, gesturing for him to lean closer to the silver-haired setter.

            “Do you think we need to work on teamwork a little bit?”

            Daichi stroked his chin, considering the interactions between the first years. He nodded.

            Hinata’s ears had perked up when Suga started speaking and had started walking backwards to see Daichi’s reaction. His eyes lit up when he saw the captain nod. He spun back around to Kageyama and started yelling.

            “KAGEYAMA! We should all go over to your house because we haven’t been there yet!”

            Kageyama spluttered at the sudden announcement.

            “Dumbass! You can’t just… I… You can’t just invite yourself over to people’s houses, you know!” He reached out to grab Hinata’s head but the smaller boy nimbly danced out of the way and then skipped closer again when the danger had passed.

            “But, Kageyama,” the middle blocker whined. “You’ve been to my house before! And we’re first years so we should be taking one for the team so our senpais don’t have to!!”

            Kageyama sighed and glanced at everyone else. Asahi was making a placating “you don’t have to” sort of gesture, while Nishinoya and Tanaka had their fists clenched and an excited expression on their faces. Tsukishima was snickering to Yamaguchi, who was scratching his head, and Daichi seemed to be assessing Kageyama with that authoritative glint in his eyes. Suga, of course, was smiling disarmingly.

            “Alright,” he mumbled. “But not today; I don’t want to spring it on my parents.” _And my cats,_ he added silently. _Oh god, my poor cats. And this team has no idea I even have pets. Oh god, I can just imagine Tsukishima with the taunting now._

Hinata, Nishinoya, and Tanaka cheered, while Asahi smiled apologetically. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi hardly reacted, Suga kept smiling, and Daichi looked satisfied.

            Kageyama stared intensely at the ground, trying not to outwardly show any panic. The whole team sort of thought of Kageyama as a somewhat abrasive but talented individual dedicated to volleyball. They had no idea that he had any sort of a caring or nurturing side; after all, his closest friend was Hinata as far as the team knew, and the two of them bickered more often than not.

            _Oh god, this is going to be hell._

            The volleyball team (and Kageyama’s parents) agreed that the coming Saturday night, which was in three days, would be a good time to all gather at the Kageyama residence. Everyone was to bring some sort of food and they would all sleep over in the living room.

            It was the end of volleyball practice on Friday, the day before everyone was supposed to meet at Kageyama’s house, before the setter finally pulled himself together enough to stammer a question to Daichi in a quiet voice. _I can’t risk anyone on the team dying from an unknown cat allergy because then we can’t go to nationals… I have to do it!_

            “Uh… Daichi-senpai… D-do you… Do you k-know if anyone on the team is… Uh… Allergic to cats?” He kept alternating between glancing at Daichi’s face and staring at the ground.

            Daichi hid a flinch of surprise by disguising it as changing his stance and bringing his arm up to scratch the back of his head.

            “Ah, Kageyama, I didn’t know you had a cat!”

            “Um… I have two, actually…” was his mumbled response.

            “Oh! Well, sorry, I don’t really know, so I guess we should ask everyone!” Daichi said before calling for the rest of the team to gather.

            “Kageyama wants to know if any of you are allergic to cats, because he has two!” Daichi announced, noticing Kageyama’s instant blush and the way he averted his gaze.

            General sounds of surprise and disbelief rose from the rest of the team.

            “Wow, I guess the King needs royal subjects even when he’s at home,” Tsukishima said to Yamaguchi.

            “GWAH! Kageyama, I didn’t know you have cats! How could you not tell me?! You know I love animals! You have to tell me about them! I can’t wait to meet them!” Hinata yelled, jumping up and down in excitement. “Are they your cats or did your parents want them, because I didn’t know you liked animals too!”

            Asahi grinned widely, almost wiggling at the thought of cute kitties. Ever the gentle giant, Asahi had a huge soft spot for all animals, particularly furry ones.

            Daichi interrupted them, saying, “It’s great that you all are excited, but is anyone actually allergic to cats?”

            Everyone replied in the negative, to which Daichi clapped his hands together and ended practice.

            “Excellent! See you all tomorrow then; don’t forget to bring food to Kageyama’s house and whatever else you need to sleep!”

* * *

            It was Saturday. _This is it,_ Kageyama thought. _This is the day everyone comes to know me as a mushy cat lover._

            Kageyama was sitting on the floor of his living room, petting his cats. The rest of the team would start arriving anytime now; Daichi had told everyone to go home after practice and freshen up a little before showing up to Kageyama’s.

            With a sigh, Kageyama lay back, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself. _Maybe I’m worrying too much; I mean, everyone knows now that I have two cats._ The sound of purring eased his nerves slightly and he smiled at the realization that his cats really were there for him when no one else could be.

            “Be careful around my team, okay? If you run and hide in my room, I’ll understand… They’re kind of crazy.” He spoke softly, rubbing the top of their heads.

            Honoka made a “mrrr” noise, while Kouta licked his hand. He sat up and pulled them both into his lap, and then glanced around the room to make sure it was clean. His parents said they’d be back after dinner and wanted to meet his team.

            “I’m scared,” he whispered suddenly. “I don’t think they’ll end up asking why I have you guys, but if they did, I don’t think I could lie to them. I’m a little scared they’ll see me differently and things will change.”

            The doorbell rang, making Kageyama flinch, which startled the cats. They jumped off him and ran to the door, the navy-haired teen following them.

            “Hi Kageyama! Your cats are so cute WAAHHH!” The orange-haired ball of sunshine’s eyes locked onto the two cats sitting demurely next to each other. “What are their names?!”

            “Honoka and Kouta,” Kageyama mumbled, taking the bowl Hinata was holding.

            “Ooooh, did you name them?”

            “Yeah…”

            Hinata immediately crouched down in front of the cats and started cooing over them, and Kageyama glanced back to see how his pets were faring before putting the food in the kitchen. Kouta started licking his paw and grooming himself, while Honoka rubbed her head against Hinata’s hand. _Well, at least they like Hinata,_ Kageyama thought.

            Before long, the rest of the volleyball team arrived. They were all thrilled by Honoka and Kouta, except for Tsukishima. Even Yamaguchi was petting them; the cats rubbed against Tsukishima’s legs but he refused to acknowledge them.

            Asahi had manly tears in his eyes as he cuddled them to his chest.

            “So fluffy!” He cried. “So beautiful.”

            The cats were a little spooked by Nishinoya and Tanaka’s exuberance and tended to avoid them. Kageyama sweatdropped when he saw the two senpais holding each other and crying over the cats’ behaviour towards them.

            Suga and Daichi sat down and let the cats approach them as they willed, which was Kageyama’s favourite way for people to interact with his cats. He sat down near the two third years, the three of them observing the team and the cats.

            “So, Kageyama-kun, how come you have two cats?” Suga asked kindly.

            Kageyama’s fists clenched in his lap and he could feel himself blushing.

            “Um…” He spluttered. “My parents…. They… Uh… They wanted me to have company at home… And they were really relaxing to be around throughout junior high and they’re kind of just really calming in general…”

            Daichi nodded in understanding.

            “I can see their reasoning behind that,” he said.

            The cats, apparently tired of the team, came over and settled in Kageyama’s lap. Subconsciously, a barely-there smile spread over his normally-fierce features as he ran his fingers through their soft fur. Their soft purring calmed Kageyama’s slight nerves from Daichi’s question.

            This did not escape Daichi’s sharp gaze; seeing Kageyama’s reaction to his cats paired with the stuttered explanation just moments before confirmed Daichi’s thoughts. He made sure his voice was low and inaudible to anyone else when he whispered to Suga.

            “Do you think it would be accurate to say that these cats were Kageyama’s closest companions throughout junior high?”

            Suga thought for a moment before nodding his head.

            “It makes sense,” the older setter whispered back. “His reaction to them says a lot about how he feels about them, and I think they feel for him just as much.”

            Daichi made a noise to acknowledge Suga’s words, before standing up.

            “Everyone! Let’s eat now!”

            Out of the corner of his eye, Daichi saw Kageyama start a little as if he had been deeply focused on something else.

            A loud cheer arose from Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Hinata, and everyone rushed into the kitchen. The clinking and clattering of plates filled the room and Kageyama, out of habit, nuzzled his cats with his nose before pouring food into their respective bowls. When he realized what he did, his cheeks burned and he heard a variety or snickers and snorts from whoever had seen. He pet their heads before getting food for himself, avoiding eye contact with anyone out of embarrassment.

            Hinata skipped up next to Kageyama.

            “Your cats really like you!” He said bluntly. “It’s nice to know that you care about them just as much!”

            Kageyama looked at Hinata with wide eyes, before a light pink blush dusted his cheeks.

            “Y-Yeah…” he mumbled, at a loss for words.

            Tanaka slapped Kageyama’s back.

            “Good to know you have that caring side in you! Girls love that!” He yelled with a wide grin.

            “Uh… Thanks, Tanaka-senpai.”

            Tanaka laughed imperiously at the “-senpai” added to his name.

            “Yes, I am your senpai! Trust me; I will guide you through my special ways of getting a lovely girl like Kiyoko-san!”

            “If only he actually had proof that his ways work,” Tsukishima snorted, getting a laugh from Yamaguchi.

            Asahi stood near the cats, resisting the urge to make grabby hands at them. He busied himself by stuffing food in his face, but his eyes never wavered from the furry animals as they ate.

            “My parents want to meet all of you,” Kageyama suddenly said. “They’ll be home soon, so please treat them well.”

            “Ossu!” The team chorused.

* * *

           The sound of a door opening preceded two new voices speaking in unison.

            “Tadaima!”

            “Okaeri,” Kageyama called back. To the team, he muttered, “I’ll be right back.”

            He got up and walked out of the living room, Honoka and Kouta following behind him.

            “He’s kind of like the Pied Piper of cats,” Suga observed.

* * *

 

            “Ah, Tobio-kun! Are your friends here?” Kageyama’s mom asked in her soft voice.

            “Yes, they’re in the living room,” he replied.

            “I’m looking forward to meeting them!” She smiled at him. “I’m happy you finally found people who appreciate you for who you are.” She patted his shoulder.

            Kageyama’s father, a man of few words, smiled warmly at his son.

            Kageyama led the way back to the living room, his parents and cats following behind. When he opened the door, the volleyball players inside all stood up and bowed.

            “Thank you for having us!” They chorused.

            “Thank you for coming! I’m Tobio-kun’s mother, and this is his father!”

            Kageyama’s father smiled again.

            “Please introduce yourselves and what position you play on the team; I want to get to know Tobio-kun’s friends!”

            “My name is Sawamura Daichi, I’m the captain and a wing spiker of Karasuno!”

            “Oh my, I’m sure you’re doing a great job leading the team!”

            “I am Sugawara Koushi, and I play setter like Kageyama-kun. Your house is lovely!”

            “Ah, why thank you Sugawara-kun!”

            “I’m Azumane Asahi, wing spiker! It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Asahi said shyly.

            “What a dashing young man!”

            “Nishinoya Yuu!!!! I’m the libero!!!!” Nishinoya grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

            “Oh yes, I remember Kageyama-kun telling me you won Best Libero!”

            Nishinoya blushed a little, and the team reacted in varying states of shock at the idea that Kageyama actually talked to his parents about them.

            “Tanaka Ryuunosuke! Kageyama’s senpai and wing spiker!” Tanaka puffed out his chest and grinned.

            “Please take care of him!”

            “I’m Hinata Shouyou! I’m a middle blocker even though I’m short, but I can jump!”

            “Tobio-kun’s told me a lot about you, Hinata-kun! It’s great to finally meet you!”

            Hinata smiled widely even though he was surprised that Kageyama would bother to talk to his parents about him, seemingly a lot from his mother’s words.

            “Tsukishima Kei. Middle blocker.” The tall blonde bowed politely.

            “Nice to meet you, Tsukishima-kun!”

            “I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi, and I’m middle blocker.Thank you for letting us into your home!”

            “No problem at all, I’m glad to meet Tobio-kun’s friends! It’s been so very long since Tobio-kun has had anyone visit.”

            Kageyama blushed yet again.

            “Kaa-san…”

            “Ah, sorry Tobio-kun! Embarrassing you in front of your friends, am I? I’m just so very excited! You never had anyone over during junior high.”

            The entire team’s eyes slid away and focused on various points of the room; anywhere except at Kageyama or his parents. Tsukishima snickered and coughed a rude comment about being a dictator under his breath, and Daichi elbowed him.

            Honoka leapt onto Asahi’s shoulder, and everyone in the room was distracted by Karasuno’s ace trying to contain his joy as the little ginger cat rubbed her face on his beard.

            _Thank you so much, Honoka,_ Kageyama thought in relief.

* * *

            The whole team was going to sleep in a variety of futons and sleeping bags. A few extra blankets were provided by Kageyama’s parents, and Kageyama took the blanket from his bed to sleep with his teammates. Honoka and Kouta settled around him.

            “Hey, Kageyama?” Hinata asked softly.

            “What?”

            “Are you asleep?”

            “Are you serious, dumbass…?”

            “Don’t make fun of me for a little mistake!! Um, why do you have two cats? I never saw you as a cat person.”

            “…”

            “Kageyama?”

            The taller teen sighed.

            “…I was lonely in junior high. Honoka and Kouta were my closest friends because no one wanted to get to know me. My parents didn’t like seeing me alone all the time, so they took me to get a pet. These two came together.”

            “…Oh.”

            Kageyama thought Hinata had fallen asleep, but then he spoke again.

            “Well, now you have us! Especially me.” The seriousness in Hinata’s voice startled him; it was rare to hear anything less than a jovial, happy-go-lucky tone from the orange-haired teen.

            “….Yeah.” Kageyama murmured.

            “We’re going to go to the top and we’re going to show all of those Kitagawa Daiichi losers what they were missing out on. They’re going to tell everyone, ‘Hey, I played on the same junior high team as the legendary Kageyama Tobio,’ but they won’t be able to say they got along with you or truly appreciated your skills. We’re going to go to nationals and we’re going to win.”

            “Yeah, we are,” Kageyama said in a stronger voice than before.

            “Good night, Kageyama.”

            “Good night, Hinata.”

            The sound of purring lulled them both to sleep, as they nested with the rest of their flock.

**Author's Note:**

> This didn't turn out as angsty and fluffy as I originally intended...
> 
> I thought about what it'd be like if Karasuno were cats (I know, I know, Nekoma, but like... couldn't resist), and then I thought about Kageyama having a cat, and then I thought of this fic. :D
> 
> EDIT 8/26/14: ONE OF THE COMMENTERS MADE _ADORABLE_ FANART OF THIS FIC I'M GONNA CRY: www.tai-chi-chuwhat.tumblr.com/post/95865175676
> 
> EDIT 4/8/16: hey hello just checking in on this fic and tai-chi-chuwhat deleted their tumblr. :( So here's a new link I found for it lol: http://nawtsu.tumblr.com/post/119512540522/taichichuwhat-kageyama-and-kitties-because

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Cat-astrophy Avoided](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4511586) by [caitrionabh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitrionabh/pseuds/caitrionabh)




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